Description: "In his latest, the critically acclaimed and wildly divergent Ness, never one for convention, takes the story of Moby-Dick, pares it down to its basic parts, and quite literally inverts it... Ness'' writing--spare, thought provoking, and already dramatic--is utterly enhanced by Cai''s breathtaking artwork." - Booklist (starred review) "Bathsheba''s story has heft, even though Ness''s book is significantly shorter than Melville''s. The questions she raises as she slowly sheds her ignorance are deep, the trauma faced by both man and whale brutal and wholly unnecessary. Rovina Cai''s illustrations are detailed and dream-like, her gray-scale with splashes of color depictions of the fathomless world an additional source of intensity in this already fierce tale. Readers are likely to leave And the Ocean Was Our Sky asking the same kinds of heavy questions as Bathsheba, primary among them, ''who needs devils when you have men?''" - Shelf Awareness (starred review) "Bathsheba''s story has heft, even though Ness''s book is significantly shorter than Melville''s... Rovina Cai''s illustrations are detailed and dream-like, her gray-scale with splashes of color depictions of the fathomless world an additional source of intensity in this already fierce tale." - Shelf Awareness (starred review) "Wrenching, dark, and powerful." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Ness channels Melville''s original language well and uses the structure of Moby-Dick as a framework for this fast-paced and streamlined retelling filled with philosophical meditations and cautions against the violence of war and the power of prophecy--especially self-fulfilling ones. Cai''s accompanying illustrations interspersed throughout bring the depths of the ocean to life with jarring, full-color artwork that calls back to the haunting setting and anguished tone of the narrative. An excellent, stirring counterpoint to the original text, rife with questions about the inexorable nature of belief and violence." - School Library Journal (starred review) "An excellent, stirring counterpoint to the original text, rife with questions about the inexorable nature of belief and violence." - School Library Journal (starred review) "In expansive illustrations by Cai (Tintinnula), rendered in inky washes and linework that mimics the ocean''s currents, the whales fly through the water, rendered above, not below, the air-filled "abyss" that humans inhabit. The whale epic, particularly Bathsheba''s discussions with the human hostage, mounts an exploration of inherited prejudices, violence justified, and the far-reaching consequences of war." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) "The whale epic, particularly Bathsheba''s discussions with the human hostage, mounts an exploration of inherited prejudices, violence justified, and the far-reaching consequences of war." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Bathsheba''s voice is hauntingly lyrical as she considers the long history of animosity between the species, and her speculations become an accessible treatise on the powerful lure of evil, the work of rumor and legend to perpetuate it, and the terrible yet necessary cost of resistance. Cai''s harrowing, luminous illustrations complete the story, adding to the sense of a fluid world where perspectives are literally upended and in flux, inviting readers to see how deeply implicated we are in the creation of our own monsters. Fans moved by the author''s A Monster Calls (BCCB 11/11) will be especially gratified to see Ness revisit this type of mythic, philosophical storytelling artfully complemented by powerful illustrations." - Bulletin of the Center for Children''s Books (starred review) "Fans moved by the author''s A Monster Calls will be especially gratified to see Ness revisit this type of mythic, philosophical storytelling artfully complemented by powerful illustrations." - Bulletin of the Center for Children''s Books (starred review)

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